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Template for creating 1-molecule wide wires for
crafting molecular level organic semiconductors published in the Journal
of the American Chemical Society.
PITTSBURGH-Researchers based at the University of Pittsburgh have
created the best method so far of assembling wire-like structures only
a single molecule wide, a significant step in science's increasing
attempts to reduce the circuitry size of electronic devices to the
single molecule scale and provide smaller, faster, and more energy
efficient electronics. The findings were published online in the
Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS).
Led by Hrvoje Petek, a professor of physics and chemistry in Pitt's
School of Arts and Sciences, the project presents a template for
assembling molecules over troughs that are only as wide as a single
atom of copper, but can be made to several times that length, matching
wires currently used in computers and other devices. These ultra-thin
wires are one-dimensional, which may enable them to conduct
electricity with minimal loss and thus improve the performance of an
electronic device.
The published research pertains to organic - or carbon-based
- soccer ball -
shaped carbon molecules known as fullerenes, but the method can
serve as a template for creating the very tiny wires from a broad
range of organic molecules, Petek said. The merits of these wire-like
structures can only be fully realized with organic molecules.
Materials used in contemporary electronics -
such as silicon-are inorganic and cannot be miniaturized to be
truly one-dimensional, Petek said.
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